When major news breaks, the story doesn’t unfold in one place anymore, but across millions of posts, livestreams and notifications that update in real time. Eyewitnesses share updates, experts weigh in, communities react, and pundits analyze as events develop.

A Better Way to Follow the Story

Instead of bouncing between platforms, Surf gives you one place to see what people are saying across Mastodon, Bluesky, and Threads—all at once.

You can search for a topic, a hashtag, or a specific voice, and instantly tap into a cross-platform stream of conversation. Because Surf browses the entire open social web, you’re not just finding coverage of a story—you’re also discovering reactions, firsthand accounts, expert commentary, and emerging narratives in real time. And for quick access to the day’s top news, pick from any of the trending topics curated by the Surf team. It’s the difference between reading about events of the day and stepping directly into the conversations around them.

And nowadays most of us don’t just read the news, we expect to see it. Surf goes beyond social posts and also includes related YouTube channels, video content, and podcasts that people are sharing about a story. To make it easy to get the news in different formats, Surf offers a tab bar so you can choose the format you want. You can move seamlessly between social posts, articles, videos, and podcasts covering the same event. Using Surf to stay on top of the news isn’t just fast, it’s more immersive than any single platform.

From One Feed to Many

The real shift isn’t just bringing everything together, but it’s how you can get back to the conversations anytime.

If you want to keep up with a topic, Surf lets you save your search into a custom feed that you can revisit when there’s new news, add sources you want to hear from, or share it with others. Instead of relying on a single “For You” timeline where important updates can get lost, you can create multiple feeds, each intentionally designed around what you care about.

For example, you might follow breaking political news in one feed, track climate conversations in another, or build a space for foreign affairs. You could even create lighter feeds, like updates from a team you follow. You decide what matters, and you shape how you see it. Moving from one mega feed to a set of focused feeds gives you the ability to go deeper, on your terms.

Designed for Curiosity, Not Algorithms

In moments of breaking news, context matters and no single algorithm should decide what you see. Surf’s search feature brings you a real-time view of what people are saying across platforms, unfiltered. From there, you can dive deeper by reading, watching, or listening to the perspectives being shared.

For the ongoing stories you care about, instead of sifting through randomized For You feeds, making a Surf custom feed offers a better way to stay informed. By turning one overwhelming timeline into many focused ones, Surf reflects the complexity of your interests instead of flattening them.

When you can see what people are saying across the open social web—through their firsthand experiences, the articles that explain events, and the videos that show what’s happening—you’re not just following the news, you’re understanding it.

Try searching for the news you care about, create a feed, and use Surf to stay connected.